


And they all fall down

by dreamingcicadas



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: ARDYN IS VERY MALEVOLENT, Daemon Noct, Gen, VERY SKEEVY, daemon!noctis AU, slow-burn, the OG fic, warning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-11
Updated: 2017-07-12
Packaged: 2018-11-30 17:41:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11468463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamingcicadas/pseuds/dreamingcicadas
Summary: Noctis can't tell where he starts and the world ends. It's too much, too much when they call out his name--making the air burn in his lungs. Making himremember.No, he prefers it like this, he doesn't have to think, he's not the Chosen and never was.[SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE GAME]--AU divergence where Noctis is inflicted with the starscourge and turns into adaemon. Ignis, Gladio and Prompto have to figure out to get Noct back.





	1. It wasn't supposed to be like this

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nickofhearts](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nickofhearts/gifts).



> This is actually my original AU for daemon noct....so im finally posting it instead of posting the spin-off one shots!

He rolled the ring within his palm but the train’s tremors nearly caused him to drop the precious heirloom,so he shoved it back into his pocket for safekeeping.  The whispers from the ring echoed in his mind like a whirlwind of screams. He feared what might happen if he actually wore it.

The memories of Altissia are hazy at best, he can only recall bits and pieces. It was like time he accidentally spilt black ink all over their special notebook and Noctis was only able to translate a few words from the mess. 

He _remembers_ \---Luna.  


And he remembered Ardyn shoving a blade deep into her side. The waves were rising, crashing against the only stable ground Noct had left. Leviathan roared, her wrath threatening to pull them under and---Noctis leaned back into the stiff chair of the train, trying to push the memories away. But they resurfaced again, where the Chancellor had cupped some of Luna’s blood into his mouth, appearing as a viscous black from where Noctis laid. 

If only Noctis wasn’t paralyzed then, Ardyn’s smile twisted into a demonic snarl as he walked to the prince. In the sun his skin sloughed off into something otherly,wrong, where only the eschar afflicted by the starscourge remained. 

The next thing Noctis remembered was Ardyn pressing his lips into him.The black blood tasted so vile when it entered his mouth. Noctis grimaced, he could still feel the sensations of Ardyn’s tongue pushing in, exploring him, the shape of it horrible against his mouth. When the man pulled away, his vision swam to pitch blackness. Vaguely, there was light, and his royal arms were at his side, and then it was gone again. 

Noctis stole a glance at Ignis, Gladiolus sat across from the other man and Noctis wanted nothing more than to shrivel when they accidentally made eye contact. 

Ignis was blind because of him. And everyone blamed him for it, Noctis was sure. 

Noctis turned away to appear more engrossed in the scenery they passed by. The setting sun started to dip below the Gralean mountain range, but it was still bright enough to burn into his vision. 

He leaned into his hands.

If Gladio was watching he probably saw how it was a poor attempt to push back the pressure building behind his eyes, bubbling up as a sob. 

 

\--

New light broke into the passenger car and startled him awake. Noctis lifted a hand to the light, squinting at the rising sun. 

“ Agh, why is it so bright?” He cringed as soon as the words left his mouth.

And Gladiolus sharp as ever, said, “ How terrible for his highness to suffer such atrocities, huh." 

Noctis ran his hand down his face. Gladiolus was not through with tearing him a new one, it seemed. From the corner of his eye he saw Prompto give a sympathetic glance. He and Gladio already carefully edged around each other. And walking on broken glass was a lot harder in the confined space of the train.

Gladiolus shifted out of his seat, slapping a hand hard on the top of Noct’s chair before meandering off somewhere. Noctis cursed under his breath when he was sure the older man was out of ear shot. 

_ ‘ You think you’re a king, but you’re a coward.’  _

Maybe dad was wrong, maybe he’d never be King. Never once in his life did Noctis see himself capable of filling in his father’s shoes. In his eyes, he was still the pauper prince. And maybe, Gladiolus finally saw through Noctis and saw that nothing was there.

Time had eased on without Gladiolus’ presence to remind Noctis of all his mistakes, and so he drifted off again.

 

\--

“Hello this your conductor speaking.” Static pierced the air, and Noctis found himself cradling his head, the pitch too loud for his sensitive ears. The loudspeaker continued,“ We will be arriving in Cartanica in fifteen minutes. Cartanica, fifteen minutes.”

“ I’ll be back,” Noctis said, nodding to Prompto. The blonde returned the gesture, tugging at his bracelets. The prince cringed when Ignis inclined his head towards his direction. For someone who accepted nothing less than crystal clear, Noctis can only imagine how hard it must be to see nothing. 

Noctis slouched as he walked down the aisle, opposite from Gladiolus’ direction. Turned out, now that he didn’t have Ignis’ ‘annoying’ reminders, he found himself fixing his posture a few times.

From the clock, he had about ten more minutes to kill. He rubbed back of his neck, there was this weird scratching noise filling the air. At first, he thought it was the loudspeaker again but then he realized  _ no one else _ was affected when it grew to an ear-splitting shrill. So he leaned back down into an unoccupied chair waiting for the worst to pass.

\--

They had finally arrived in Cartanica to get another ancient weapon. He glared at Gladio when the man offered a shallow apology for the newly bruised shoulder. Under his breath, the older man mumbled, “ Be grateful you’re even getting help.” 

Noctis knew that.

It would’ve been better if Gladio and Ignis just left him alone. But he understood. Weeks had gone by since Luna had passed the ring on to him.

“ We should rest before we head out,” Ignis said, and Prompto immediately started to guide Ignis towards the lodging cart. 

“ Well, what does his highness decree?” Noctis rolled his eyes at that. With a forced noncommittal shrug, he responded, “ Do whatever. ”

 

\--

“ What was  _ that? _ ” Gladiolus said as the group boarded the train. Noctis let out a long exasperated sigh as they moved into a dining cart. 

“ I wonder who this could be directed at,” He deadpanned. “ I thought the waiter in the diner was checking you out too, Gladio.” 

Gladiolus grabbed him by the shoulders, and roughly spun him around. It looked like any minute now they would be exchanging blows. Other passengers distanced themselves from the group as the sound of their voices escalated.

“ I got the royal arm,” Noctis said. “ What more do you want?”

“ I am going to graciously ignore your attitude,” His hold around Noctis’ collar tightened. “ But when your advisor gives you strategy, you follow it.”

“ We killed it, didn’t we?”The prince noticed Ignis gripped his cane tighter. “Looks like it to me that Ignis doesn’t really like it when you use him to win your fights.” 

“ That wasn’t---I didn’t like what I saw.  _ Don’t do that again _ .”

Gladiolus’ choleric disposition made Noctis’ rage bubble up into a snarl. Before he could snap, Prompto pushed himself between the two, which gave him enough time to shakily realize he wanted nothing more than to tear into the other man’s throat with his teeth, and that wasn’t right. Noctis felt disjointed, like pieces of him weren’t fitting in correctly. Prompto looked like a dwarf compared to size of Gladio but despite that, Prompto managed to descalate the situation.The white noise had returned, shattering into Noctis’ mind. 

‘ _ O’ chosen king make haste, for the Accursed …’  _

He leaned against the seat, grasping his head between his fingers. That was---Gentiana’s voice, but she cut off too early. Make haste for what, and who was the Accursed?

Someone was shaking him, calling his name. He blinked hard as he refocused into reality, oh, it was Prompto. He sat across Ignis in one of the dining booths, but the other two members of their group were standing. Gladiolus looked away, an almost foreign expression twisting his face. Noctis bit back a humorless laugh when it registered in his mind that what he saw was  _ pity.  _

“ Thank you, Prompto.” Ignis spoke up, his hands gripping his cane tightly. “ Nevermind me. Can you tell me what happened, Noctis?”

“ Yeah, I think.” He was rubbing circles into forehead. “I think Gentiana is warning us about something.”

“ Oh no, please let it be a good surprise,” Prompto said which made Noctis break into a smile which didn’t last for long as Gladiolus pulled Ignis aside, leaving Prompto and Noctis behind. “ I need to talk to Iggy about something.”

“ He needs to talk about me.” 

Prompto pursed his lips, like something caught his tongue. “ Yea. Are you feeling okay? I mean--we haven’t talked since you-know-what. ” 

“ I don’t know, Prompto.” Noctis said, leaning into his hands. “ Everyone’s---counting on me, but I couldn’t save even some kid’s grandfather.”

Noctis and Prompto exchanged looks but neither peeped a word. Before his best friend could say anything, he turned completely away. The moving landscape became a new point of interest for him, even though not much changed in the passing scenery and none of them had regrouped together since they dispersed. Though, Noct wasn’t complaining, he ordered another cup of tea to keep the waiter appeased and continued his window-gazing. Other passengers had come and gone: there was a couple with an accusatory girlfriend, a little kid who had a fixation on the color of his clothes, and the mother who scolded him when the boy stared.  Though, What had piqued his interest was the conversation of another couple who sat in the booth behind him.

“ Did you hear? Reports show nights are growing longer,” said one. “ And somehow, it’s linked to the recent spike in aggressive wildlife too.”

“ Ahhh, don’t scare meeeee,” said the other, Noctis heard them shudder. “ I don’t want to be all pale and pasty!”

“ Really? There’s going to be daemons now more than ever, and you’re worried about a  _ tan? _ ” 

“ I was just  _ trying _ to lighten the mood--hey, check that out!” 

The prince nearly spat out his drink when he saw, right there, smack in the middle was a cloister of a blizzard, the likes what he never seen before. Flanking both sides of the snowstorm was the dry desert climate he knew so well.  If he squinted, he could see a silhouette of a giant’s head, but nothing more.  
  


\--

Prompto pulled one of Noctis’ arms around his neck, and supported his weight as much as he could. The daemons--he didn’t know which was creepier, the fact that they were daemons, or that they didn’t attack at all. What did Ardyn mean by ‘welcoming them’ with Noctis? 

As he made his way down to safety, he saw the daemons vanish into wisps. Fortunately, Noct looked like he was coming to.

\--

It felt like he was ready to breath fire at Gladiolus but instead the words growled out. Prompto took a step back as Gladiolus took one forward.  Noct found himself in a corner as he cradled his head. This time the headache was deafening. He can’t keep his eyes open long enough, but he felt Gladiolus place two firm hands on his shoulders to square him.

“ Noct, what’s wrong?” Gladiolus nearly shouted, shaking him. 

His eyes fluttered open to Gladio scrutinizing him, or atleast that’s what Noct thought. Before he could say anything, something washed over him, flooding his senses. Noctis then pulled his teeth back into a snarl and Gladiolus moved just in time to parry a swipe from one of his newly-turned claws.

Noctis wasn’t sure if the blonde’s name was Prompto, but he knew with certainty that he needed to  _ shut up.  _

The blonde lifted a trembling finger at Noct and stuttered out, “ Noctis, please tell me you’re okay _.”  _

His name was Noctis? He couldn't tell. 

All he wanted was to  _ eat.  _

 


	2. And as time comes to a halt

_The tear in the malboro revealed a pulsing organ of some sort. Everyone had stopped their assault when a cry bubbled out of Noctis that sounded more like a hyena_ cackling _than it did a human noise. And even when it died, run through with the Engine Sword,  Noct  switched over to two short daggers and continued to stab the thing, drawing out its final whimpers like it was music to his ears. Gladiolus stepped closer, towards Noct, whose shoulders shook with unbridled laughter._

“ Something’s up with Noctis,” Gladio said, yanking Ignis over to a private cart. It felt like a stone dropped into the pit of his stomach, this distinct sense of foreboding, a fire that branched into his nerves.

“ And something’s up with _you_ ,” Ignis said, anger lining his voice. “ I’m sick of your pointless bickering--my vision hasn’t improved and probably _won’t_.”

 _“ Noct!” He screamed, hooking his fingers deep into Noct’s skin, like if it would pull him out of whatever addlement he was in. The prince looked feverish, pale skin that had a sheen of sweat. His normally clear blue irises were dimmed down to a blue-grey, almost_ white _, and he blinked those glazed eyes up at Gladiolus like if the man disturbed a great meal.  
_

“ Iggy--” Gladiolus tried to start before cut off.

“ I planned on discussing this matter between the both of you--but-- he refused to take an antidote,” Ignis finished weakly, his fist clenching at his sides. “ Saying how he _wasn’t sick,_ and how I should look after _myself_.”

Gladiolus moved to open his mouth, but Ignis continued, “ And what is a King that can not take a step forward? Noct hasn’t been good since _Altissia._ ”

 _When Noctis threw his sword to the side to tear the flesh off the malboro with his_ hands _, Gladiolus ripped him off. It was like the royal arm they were here for was completely forgotten._

“ In the grand scheme of it, _I_ can only be his support, as should _you,”_  Ignis looked down at his feet. “ And if I can not keep up, I will bow out.”

“Alright,” Gladiolus said, relenting. “ I’ll go talk to him, and we can patch this up.”

Before Ignis could respond, the features of his face softening, the train shuttered to a stop--and then, Gladiolus realized, as he heard the hum of the magitek engine overhead, that they were being _attacked._

* * *

Prompto answered the phone for Noctis, which didn’t sound right. Gladiolus was busy navigating the emergency stop to the train as the conductor was lying on the ground, clearly decapitated. Daemons were filling up the carts like spouts of water overflowing, but then, the loudspeaker sparked to life and someone hummed the _happy birthday song_ before rolling into sinister laughter.

\--

It wasn’t so much that Noctis roused, instead Gladiolus had shook at his shoulders with the next step of pouring a bucket of icewater on him if he didn’t stir. But then Noctis’ eyes opened wide and he was no longer in Gladiolus’ arms, but hunching over in a corner a few feet away.

There was a _roar_ , a sound that shouldn’t have come from human lungs--Noct’s lungs.

Gladiolus  watched his charge stumble back, slumping against the wall. The ring of Lucii had rolled onto the ground, stopping at his boots. He picked up, Gladio’s gaze shifting from the ancient artifact to Noct’s convulsing form.

Newly-turned claws _swiped_ at him, his jaw slack with horror as he watched shadows crawl through Noctis’ veins and pool out through his pores, the ichor hardening into a shell like Noctis was wearing _armor._

When Noct next opened his eyes, the sclera was _black_ , red irises bleeding gold in the middle. Noctis _snarled_ , arching his back like he was coiling up to _strike_.

“ What’s going on---Noct???” Ignis cried, his fingers digging into Prompto’s shoulders.

Gladiolus pushed Ignis off to the side when Noctis suddenly charged at him, clawing a deep gash into him. He was pinned on his side, Noctis yawning his mouth wide to take a bite from Gladiolus but he managed to kick him off in time--his teeth chomping on nothing but air.

Noctis gripped at his head, where his horns pushed through, coming out all lopsided and grotesque.

One of passengers, an employee of the train, inched back a few feet from where Noctis tumbled back. Noctis’ sharp gaze turned towards the shivering human and lunged at him. Gladio scrambled to his feet, but Noct already sunk his fangs into the man--their body going limp underneath Noct’s hold.

Gladiolus swung his sword unwillingly at Noctis, clipping his prince at the lower abdomen when Noctis moved to dodge the strike. Noct _yowled_ in pain, before fleeing into the shadows that acted as portal between the world of light and dark.

* * *

 

Somewhere between the expanse of land of Cartanica and Tenebrae, one single blond gunner wished he was chowing down on some cheesy fries from the Crow’s Nest.

“ Is this...mash potatoes?” Prompto asked. He examined the slop, squinting one eye like it made a difference. Prom tilted the tray experimentally and watched the substance move like jello. Wait, he blinked, did the foodgoo just twitch?

Gladiolus stopped mid-chew of his own goop, he must have noticed too.

“ What happened?” Ignis asked when Prompto screamed. It was until after Gladiolus set his utensils down, and then proceeded to throw his food tray splat into the wall did Prompto answer.

“ A c-cockroach was in my food, Iggy,” Prompto stuttered out, “ I think I’m going to drink bleach now.”

Ignis looked like lost his appetite upon hearing that unsanitary revelation. Usually, if Noct made a comment about an eatery they visited, Ignis would just whip something up.

“ Bon appetit,” Ignis said, setting his fork down. He barely dented his food and likely had no intention to do so now. Gladiolus walked over to help him from his chair, sticking his cane into his hand.

Gladiolus lead Iggy out the diner while Prompto followed suit. The climate in Gralean was nothing like Lucian territory, it was cold and the wind bit at their ears. In passing, the working rumour was because Shiva’s corpse had caused all the disturbances in the environment.

“ Do you think Shiva’s dead body is also the cause for longer nights?” Prompto asked, the snow crunching underneath his boots. The small town they took a pit-stop in wasn’t anything special to the eyes, but it certainly shared the mark of Niflheim. The Imperial flag flapped in the icy winds, its shadow cast long like if it wanted to eat everything in its maw. Prompto shivered but this time not because of the cold.

Gladiolus hummed at him, fixing his jacket. “ We should talk about this in our room,” he said.

Prompto rolled his eyes at that, “ I don’t think we’ll have a problem with that. We’re basically making ourselves targets driving the Regalia around.”

“ It’s true,” Ignis said, his cane clacking on the floor as Gladio guided him. “ And you might be onto something. An _astral’s_ death may be a cause.”

“ And Noct’s the Chosen One, right?” Prompto asked shakily. “ Wasn’t he destined to do something with darkness?”

“ _Was_ ,” Gladiolus said, a frown twisting deeply into his face. “ I don’t know how much Chosen he is now that he’s a daemon.”

“ We just have put the ring of Lucii on him, like what Gentiana instructed us to do,” Ignis said before silence had enveloped the conversation.

“ There’s three steps,” Gladiolus said before pushing the door to their motel open. Gladiolus signed them all in, and they used an elevator instead of the stairs to settle into their rooms. It would be a long night planning, figuring out on what to do and how exactly to find Noctis.

“ I guess tomorrow, huh?” Prompto mumbled to himself, out of earshot from the others.

 

 

 


End file.
